Quote, originally posted by Mazda »

A legend in its own lifetime, the iconic Mazda MX-5 roadster continues to deliver pure motoring thrills – as a new or used car – almost 20 years since its debut. This week, MX-5 has overcome the challenge of numerous short-listed rivals to win its class in the ‘2008 Auto Express Used Car Honours’ in the popular weekly publication’s annual awards. This latest success for the Mazda MX-5 follows last month’s triumph, when Mazda’s sportscar won ‘Best Convertible’ in the 2008 Auto Express New Car Honours. For the latest issue of Auto Express, an experienced panel of six judges, who know the used car market inside out, scrutinised the merits of the dozens of cars in 16 different categories. After much deliberation, the Mazda MX-5 two-seater emerged as the clear winner of the ‘Best Roadster’ – beating the significantly more expensive Porsche Boxster and Audi TT into the runners-up places. Commenting on the Mazda MX-5’s victory, Auto Express stated: “In 1989, Mazda took everything that made the British Lotus Elan great, then added superb reliability and a low price to the package. Not only is the MX-5 the world's best-selling sportscar, it has also won over us loyal Brits. It’s poised to knock the classic MGB off the top spot for both popularity and parts supply in the UK. The problem our judges faced come ‘decision time’ was choosing between the current and previous generations of the MX-5 – the Mazda is a fantastic choice and a thrilling drive.” Highlighting the dilemma facing members of the judging panel, British Car Auctions general manager Ashley Feldman said: "My first thoughts were in favour of the present-shape MX-5 as it's more desirable. But it is simply impossible to ignore the availability and value of the older model. Both versions will fend off most sportscar rivals in every way, so we can recommend them as a pair." Accepting the latest award for Mazda UK, Marketing Director Mark Cameron commented: “In the UK, the iconic two-seater, rear-wheel drive Mazda MX-5 sportscar continues to be hugely popular with both the public and media. It delivers on the promise of thrilling open-air motoring, with everyday reliability and modest running costs. Since its launch in the UK in 1990 we have sold more than 90,000 MX-5s so there is broad selection of used models available through our ‘Zoom-Zoom Plus’ approved used car programme and of course through other outlets nationwide. “The MX-5 soft-top can be opened and closed in just a few seconds, using only one hand and without getting out of the car. The Mazda MX-5 Roadster Coupe features the world’s fastest-folding hard-top – up or down in just 12 seconds. And by a miracle of packaging ingenuity, this roof retracts into a compact space behind the seats so the boot space maintains its 150-litre volume as before – a unique innovation among modern sports cars,” concludes Cameron. Competitive ownership costs Thanks to the excellent levels of security, including Thatcham category 1 alarm and immobiliser (standard on all models), together with the modest overall costs of crash repair, the insurance groups for both the Mazda MX-5 soft-top and Roadster Coupe are highly competitive, ranging from 11E to 13E. Improved residual values are also apparent. The indicative three-year/60,000 mile residual values from used car experts CAP Motor Research predict the Mazda MX-5 will retain between 43 per cent of its value (2.0i Sport) and 47 per cent (1.8i base model) at disposal time – making it an unbeatable ownership proposition.

My girlfriends dad lets me drive his 1990 Miata. It is stock and completely awesome.

Quote, originally posted by Double-V »

Your argument is like saying beef is beef, when a minute steak is not quite as good as filet mignon.

Quote, originally posted by vwlarry »

Yes, it's true, I'm a monster. I also club baby seals and hollow out their fluffy little bodies to make pudding cups.

Here, , I hope it helps.

Miata > my XJ > 1.8T

Quote, originally posted by axe »

Honda threads are like dubber douchebag flypaper

Quote, originally posted by nachtmusik »

while humans might be the most intelligent species on the planet, simply being human is no guarantee of being intelligent...

The Mazda mafia is going to come in here and tell you to **** at least its not a VW.

It's 14 years old. Have all maintenance records?

I don't, but I'm keeping some. The only main "maintenance" issue was a leaking cam angle sensor which I fixed, but that caused the heater hose to rupture a couple of weeks later. I have also had two separate electrical issues, one of which I'm working on currently.

90% of non-car enthusiasts don't though.

but still more reliable than all the vw's i ever had.

IB4miataisgay

Best roadster I'd agree I suppose, though the Z4 would give it some competition. Legendary? ehhh

Quote, originally posted by satisfied »

SEE YOU AT RACE WARS!

Keep in mind, when it came out, its competition was the Alfa Romeo Spider, and the much more expensive Lotus Elan. That was it. (OK, in Australia the Ford Capri was also competition against it.)

It was the first sports car that managed to feel like a British sports car, while having the reliability of a Japanese econobox.